Floating towing device



Aug. 17, 1965 c. P. GOGGI 3,201,113

FLOATING TOWING DEVICE Filed Dec. 11, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 EN TOR.

Aug. 17, 1965 c. P. GOGGI FLOATING TOWING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Shee't 2 FiledDec. 11, 1961 INVENTOR. C/MQ QS Goss/ uuhnnnnmmWWW of water.

United States Patent York Filed Dec. 11, 1961, Ser. No. 158,459 Claims.(Cl. 272-32) This invention relates to a floating propelling device andmore particularly it is concerned with a water ski towing device adaptedto move the skier in a substantial- 1y circular path.

Water skiing is taught generally by the use of a power boat which hasbeen adapted for towing the student. Adajacent the shore, the instructorprepares the student for attempting the start of a ski run while at thesame time, the boat is positioned with its stern pointing toward thestudent. The ski tow line is then transferred from the boat to the shoreso that the sudent may grip it. The student is next positioned in thewater by the instructor for the star. At his point it is necessary tomove the boat a sufficient distance away from the student so that theslack of the tow rope is removed. Upon a signal from the instructor, theoperator of the boat then moves the boat forward in order to tow thestudent from the water into a skiing position along the surface.

In the beginning the student normally has ditliculty in holding the towrope against the pull of the boat and directing both skis toward thesurface of the water. Further difilculty is encountered in maintainingbalance once the skier has gotten the skis on to the surface of thewater and is able to rise into a normal skiing position. In most casesthe student is unsuccessful during the first few attempts. Whetherinnumerable starting attempts are made depends to a great extent uponthe aptitude of the student, the handling of the boat and the advice ofthe instructor. Since for each false start it is necessary to return theboat to a position near the shore and then to move to its ready positionfor the next attempt, it is evident that a great deal of time may belost in teaching water skiing.

Another difficulty in using a boat as a means of teaching water skiingis that the boat tends to subject the student from the very beginning tothe full variety of conditions which may make skiing difiicult and causethe skier to fall. Still another problem incurred with this technique ofteaching water skiing is that it removes the student from the shore areaso that in case of an accident or injury, the student is in a greaterdegree of risk than he would be if adjacent to the shore line.

The teaching of water skiing with a boat also has the disadvantage thata large area of water must be available. For safety purposes, theteaching area should be segregated from the normally used areas of thebody This may be impossible in a relatively small lake or river,especially in view of the great number of people today who are engagedin boating, skiing, fishing, etc. It is also evident that it iscompletely impossible to use a boat for towing purposes in a small poolor pond due to the large turning radius which a boat requires and thelow efiiciency of the boat when operating in very tight turns.

In order to facilitate the teaching of water skiing, attempts have beenmade to provide floating bases with means to propel the students in asubstantially circular path. In brief such devices have includedfloating bases with arm members extending outwardly to which tow ropesare attached. Such devices have generally encountered the diflicultythat the floating base rocks excessively due to wave action or the wakeof nearby boat-s. Rocking of the base tends to move the outwardlyextending arm members with respect to the water so that it becomesdiflicult if not impossible for the student to hold on to the tow ropeand at the same time it becomes more difilcult to propel the structurein a rotary manner. Attempts to solve the problem by providing a fixedinstead of a floating base for the device have can generallyunsuccessful due to the expense and difficulty of providing such a base.Since the propelling devices are generally of a portable nature, andsince they are used in a manner that is opposed to any degree ofpermanence, it is preferable that the floating type of base be employed.

The present invention overcomes these various disadvantages by providinga floating propelling device which has its main buoyant supporting meanssubmerged in the surrounding fluid so that it is substantially isolatedfrom the disturbances of waves or the wakes of boats. In order to obtainadditional stability the propelling device is additionally supported byother supporting means which are spaced at a predetermined radialdistance from the main buoyant support. Since the additional sup portingmeans are only partially submerged they are capable of providing arestoring moment whenever the propelling device is tilted by waves, etc.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a floatingpropelling device for propelling an object engaged thereto with respectto a limited area of a supporting fluid.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a floatingpropelling device which includes a supporting means for a major portionof the weight of the device and which is submerged in a supporting fluidin its operative position.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a floatingpropelling device which is stabilized by a plurality of partiallysubmerged supporting means which are connected to the main supportingmeans at a predetermined radial distance therefrom.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a floatingpropelling device which has a means for anchoring it against horizontalmovement by being engaged to the bottom underlying the supporting fluid.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide apropelling device in which the outwardly extending members to which areattached the additional buoyant supporting members are submerged in thesupporting fluid when in its operative position.

Another additional object of the present invention is to provide afloating base for carrying an object resting thereon which has the majorportion of the weight of the base and object supported by means normallysubmerged in its operative position.

Additional objects and features of the invention include structuraldetails which are simple and economical to construct and which aretrouble free in operation.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a floating propelling device of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the floating propellingdevice;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view of the anchorsupporting arrangement taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical cross-section of the adjustableattachments for the floats taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 2.

The floating propelling device or water skitowing device 16' (FIG. 1)has the major portion of its weight resting upon the supporting means ormain float 11. Main float 11 which is attached to sleeve 12 is adaptedto be submerged beneath the surface 13 of the fluid or water 14 whichserves to support device Main float 11 can be formed as a figure ofrevolution whose major axis is. coextensive with the axis of the sleeve1?... To make main float Ill a buoyant device it can be fabricated fromplastic foam or other light weight and water resistant materials. Mainfloat II can include a plurality of individual floats 15 disposed withincontaining member 16. Oil drums can be used as floats and in such acase, they are bound together by steel bands.

It is evident that with merely a single supporting member of arelatively compact nature, a floating device will tend to be unstable.With such a condition any disturbing force applied to the system tendsto make it move from its normal undisturbed position. To counteractdisturbing forces, the remaining portion of the weight of the propellingdevice is supported by means of out-rigger floats 17 attached toout-riggers l? which extend outwardly in a radial manner from the bottomportion of main float 11 at sleeve 12 (FIG. 2). The buoyant force ofout-rigger floats 17 is transmitted to brackets 24% which are mountedadjacent the free end of each of the outriggers. It may be necessary tobe able to adjust the vertical position of each of out-rigger floats 1'7with respect to out-riggers 18 when the device is installed in thewater. For this purpose out-rigger floats I7 (FIG. 4) may be connectedto adjusting cable 21 which passes about pulley 22 mounted withinbracket The bracket can be formed from light-weight pipe. Cable 21 canbe locked in the correctly adjusted position by means of clamp 23attached to the exterior of bracket 2%}. Handle 24 at the free end ofadjusting cable 21 facilitates the application of the adjusting force tothe cable.

In order to reduce the weight of the towing device, out-riggers 18 maybe fabricated from light-weight pipe as were the brackets. In order tostrengthen the outriggers against the bending moments applied by theoutrigger floats and at the same time to add additional support forsleeve 12, braces 25 formed from light-weight pipe may be angularlydisposed between the out-riggers and the upper portion of the sleeve.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the towing device is floating in the water inits operative position, main float 11 is completely submerged whileout-rigger floats 17 are only partially submerged. It may also be seenthat out-riggers 18, brackets 29 and the major portion of braces 25 arealso submerged beneath surface 13 of water lid. The submerging of thesemembers within the water serves both to reduce the weight that must becarried by the main and out-rigger floats and at the same time to add agreat degree of drag in the plane of rotation to which the central axisof sleeve 12 is perpendicular. Thus outriggers, brackets and bracesoppose any torque tending to rotate the flotation device about itsvertical axis. The radially extending out-riggers are furtherstrengthened by the provision of tie bars as which connect oneout-rigger to the other in order to strengthen the assembly.

Tow arms 27 extend outwardly in a radial direction from the centrallocation of main float 11, the inner end of each of the arm members ismounted on colla 28 'which is mounted in a pivotal manner about spindle29 by means of ball or roller bearing 36? (FIG. 3). In order to simplifythe assembly "of arms 27 while increasing the overall strength of thearrangement, collar 28 can be provided with a plurality of sleevemembers adapted to receive the inner ends of the arms. A substantiallyhorizontal driving force to rotate the towing device is provided byoutboard motors 33 mounted upon hangers 34 which extend downwardly fromtow arms 27. As shown in FIG. 2, hangers 34 are positioned along towarms 27 so that the circular path of travel of the outboard motors iswithin the square defined by out-riggcr floats 17. In order to safeguardagainst the possibility of a skier who has fallen or a swimmer fromentering into the path of travel of the outboard motors, nets 35 4 maybe attached to brackets 2b and extend between them so as to form aprotective barrier completely enclosing the path of travel of themotors.

Mast 56 (FIGS. 2 and 3) which is attached to plates 31 and 32 extendupwardly along the axis of rotation of the towing device. Guide wires3'7 and 33 extend from the top of mast 36 to radially spacecLpointsalong each of the tow arms in order to support their weight and anyvertical load applied to them. In order to strengthen the tow armsagainst the substantially lateral forces applied to them by the skiersand the drag of the atmosphere, guide wires 39 and are connected fromone tow arm to the tow arm adjacent to it in the direction of rotation.

As shown in FIG. 1, skiers 41 on skis i2 grip tow bar 4-3 of tow line 44which is secured to free end 45' of tow arm 27. The free ends of thearms are supported at a predetermined height above the water by theguide wires which enables the tow line to be substantially horizontalwhen the skier is in the correct skiing position. The tow arms and thetow lines are of a suflicient length that the skier is enabled tomaneuver considerably without being uncomfortably close to theout-rigger floats or netting.

It is necessary to anchor towing device It} with respect to bottom as inorder that the towing device not drift away due to the horizontalmovement of water 14. Anchor 47 includes body portion 48 to which areattached along its length tapered bafiies 49. Anchor 47 1s adapted toengage the lower end portion of anchor shaft 5% and to be securedthereto by a pin or the like (not shown). Anchor shaft d0 is ofsutficient length so that with the anchor engaged on the bottom, theupper portion of the anchor shaft is still engaged within sleeve 12(FIG. 3).

The sliding arrangement of anchor shaft 5th in sleeve 12 enables theanchor shaft and anchor to be retracted up to the time that the towingdevice is to be anchored. This simplifies the handling of the equipmentbefore an= choring since the anchor could otherwise foul and retardmovement. Once the device has been anchored, the sliding engagement ofanchor shaft 50 in sleeve 12 provides the additional advantage ofenabling the anchor to remain unaffected by vertical movement of thewater. If the tow-' ing device is on a lake, for example, changes ofwater level accompanying heavy rains, drought, etc., merely result inthe anchor shaft sliding with respect to the sleeve while the anchorremains firmly engaged with the bottom.

In order to lift the anchor to disengage it from bottom 46, cable 51 isattached to the upper portion of the ancho shaft by swivel 51a. Cable 51which passes over pulley 52 and clamping device 53 is provided withhandle 54 at its free end. Anchor i7 is positioned with either baseportion 49a of the baffles up or down depending upon the condition ofthe bottom. For a muddy bottom or other soft bottom condition, anchor 47is positioned with base portion 49a of the baffles in an upward manneras shown in FIG. 2. For a hard clay bottom or the like, the anchor wouldbe inverted from the position shown in FIG. 2.

In a typical installation of the propelling device, main float 11 can beproportioned to carry approximately 70 to of the total weight of thedevice. The out-rigger floats 17 are then proportioned so that they cancarry the remaining portion of the total weight not carried by the mainfloat. Sleeve 12 is proportioned such that tow arms 27 are at theircorrect operating position above surface 13 when main float 11 issubmerged beneath surface 13 of the water. Main float I1 is submerged ata depth below the surface so that the normal waves accompanying windaction plus the waves resulting from the wake of a boat operating in thevicinity do not break along any portion of the main float. So long asthere is no free surface developed on the main float, the float willcontinue to exert its buoyant force and will have no tendency to raiseor lower the towing device. Thus, the buoyant force supporting 70 to80%, for example, of the weight of the towing device is substantially aconstant one so that the device remains substantially stable in thewater. Brackets 20 and cables 21 connecting from the brackets to theoutrigger floats 17 are proportioned in such a way that the out-riggerfloats are partially submerged when the towing device is in equilibriumin the water, so that it neither tends to rise or submerge. Out-riggers18 are designed to have a sufliciently long lever arm with respect tothe center portion of the towing device so that the relatively smallforce which is exerted by the out-rigger floats is capable of developinga suflicient restoring moment to maintain the towing device in a stateof sufflciently high stability at all times.

Unlike the main float, out-rigger floats 17 having free surface abovesurface 13 of the water are affected by surface disturbances due to windor boat wakes. During such disturbances, the buoyant force of theout-rigger floats will vary and thereby change the moment applied tooutrigger arms 18. However, due to the mass and the moment of inertia ofthe device, the disturbances at the out-rigger floats which result inmoments being applied to the system, will only have a minimum tendencyto rock or sway it. Thus transient effects at the out-rigger floats willnot appreciably change the position of the towing device. On the otherhand, due to the length of the moment arms of outriggers 18, out-riggerfloats 17 are completely capable of providing long term stability to thesystem.

Operation In order to set the water ski towing device in operation, itcan be floated or otherwise transported to a suitable location on thebody of water. Depending upon the nature of the bottom, anchor 47 isthen positioned .at the bottom portion of anchor shaft 56. The operatorreleases clamping device 53, permitting cable 51 to lower anchor shaft50 and anchor 47 into engagement into the bottom. Cables 24 have beenpreviously adjusted so that out-rigger floats are are each floatingsubstantially above their point of attachment to brackets 20 when mainfloat 11 is completely submerged at a predetermined depth so that itwill not be disturbed by the Wave action which would be encountered atthe particular location. The next step is the starting of outboardmotors 33 so that power is available to rotate towing arms 27. Skiers4-1 then grip tow bars 43 attached to tow lines 44 and place themselvesin a position to start to ski upon movement of the tow arms.

By means not shown the operator then engages the propellers of outboardmotors 33 so that a propelling force is applied to the tow arms and thenthey begin to rot-ate. The propelling force transmitted through the towlines enable the skiers to move their skis from beneath the water untilthe skis plane upon the surface. The skiers are then able to maneuverand otherwise practice skiing so long as the towing device remains inmotion.

Out-rigger floats 17 apply restoring moments to the towing device sothat the fluctuations in load applied by the skiers do not tend to rockor otherwise move the towing device. In the case of wave action,out-rigger floats 17 only have a minimum effect upon the towing device.The passage of these waves adjacent to main float 11 has no effect sinceit is completely submerged.

It can be seen from the above description that the present inventionprovides a propelling device adapted to tow water skiers. Althoughvarious embodiments of the invention have been shown and describedherein, it is understood that certain changes and additions within thescope of the appended claims may be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A floating propelling device including means for buoyantly supportingthe major portion of the Weight of the device, said supporting means inits operative positive being submerged in the fluid upon which thedevice is floated, additional means for buoyantly supporting theremaining portion of the weight of the device, means for connecting saidadditional supporting means to said supporting means at a predeterminedradial distance therefrom,'said additional supporting means in itsoperative position being partially submerged in said fluid and beingadapted to provide a restoring moment to said supporting means, at leastone arm member extending outwardly from the location of said supportingmeans, means for pivotally attaching said arm member at one end thereofto said supporting means, and means for providing a substantiallyhorizontal driving force to said arm member, said driving force rotatingsaid pivotally attached arm member to rotate about said supportingmeans, whereby the portion of said arm memberadjacent the other endthereof is adapted to propel an object engaged thereto with respect tosaid fluid.

2. A floating propelling device in accordance with claim 1 in which saidadditional supporting means includes a plurality of additional buoyantbodies spaced apart from each other about said supporting means.

3. A floating propelling device in accordance with claim 1 in which saidmeans for connecting said additional supporting means to said supportingmeans at a predetermined radial distance therefrom includes outwardlyextending members attached adjacent their inner end to said supportingmeans and adjacent their outer end to said additional supporting means.

4. A floating propelling device in accordance with claim 3 in which saidoutwardly extending members are submerged in said fluid when in theiroperative position.

5. A floating propelling device in accordance with claim 1 in which saidmeans for connecting said additional supporting means to said supportingmeans at a predetermined radial distance therefrom includes outwardlyextending members attached adjacent their inner end to said supportingmeans and means for adjustably attaching said additional supportingmeans in a vertical direction with respect to said outwardly extendingmembers adjacent the other end thereof to determine the depth at whichsaid supporting means is submerged.

6. A floating propelling device in accordance with claim 1 in which saidmeans for connecting said additional supporting means to said supportingmeans at a predetermined radial distance therefrom includes outwardlyextending members attached adjacent their inner end to said supportingmeans and means for selectively attaching said additional supportingmeans in a vertical direction with respect to said outwardly extendingmembers at a predetermined distance from adjacent their outer ends, saidadditional supporting means being attached at said predetermineddistance enabling said additional supporting means to be partiallysubmerged when said supporting means is submerged in said fluid.

7. A floating propelling device in accordance with claim 1 in which saidmeans for providing a substantially horizontal driving force to said armmember engages said arm member at a location disposed at a radialdistance from said supporting means less than said predetermined radialdistance, whereby the path of travel of said means for providing adriving force is within between the center of rotation and the locationof said additional supporting means.

8. A floating propelling device including means for buoyantly supportingthe major portion of the weight of the device, said supporting means inits operative position being submerged in the fluid upon which thedevice is floated, additional means for buoyantly supporting theremaining portion of the weight of the device, means for connecting saidadditional supporting means to said supporting means at a predeterminedradial distance therefrom, said additional supporting means in itsoperative position being partially submerged in said fluid and beingadapted to provide a restoring moment to said supporting means, at leastone arm member extending outwardly from the location of said supportingmeans, means for pivotally attaching said arm member at one end thereofto said supporting means, means for providing a substantially horizontaldriving force to said arm member, said driving force rotating saidpivotally attached arm member to rotate about a substantially verticalaxes extending through said supporting means, and means extendingsubstantially along said vertical axis for anchoring said device againsthorizontal movement, said anchoring means in its operative positionengaging the bottom underlying said fluid, whereby the portion of saidarm member adjacent'the other end thereof is adapted to propel an objectengaged thereto with respect to said fluid.

9. A floating propelling device in accordance with claim 8 in which saidanchoring means includes a substantially vertically disposed barslideably connected to said supporting means and a base member attachedthereto, said bar being of sufficient length when said device is in itsoperative position to extend from the slideable connection'with saidsupporting means to engage said base member to the bottom underlying thefluid upon which the device is floated, whereby said device isrestrained from horizontal movement and has freedom for verticalmovement.

10. A floating propelling device including means for buoyantlysupporting the major portion of the weight of the device, saidsupporting means in its operative position being submerged in the fluidupon which the device is floated, additional means for buoyantlysupporting the remaining portion of the weight of the device, means forconnecting said additional supporting means to said supporting means ata predetermined radial distance therefrom, said additional supportingmeans in its operative position being partially submerged in said fluidand being adapted to provide a restoring moment to said supportingmeans, at least one arm member extending outwardly from the location ofsaid supporting means, means for pivotally attaching said arm member atone end thereof to said supporting means, means for providing asubstantially horizontal driving force to said arm member, said drivingforce rotating said pivotally attached arm member to rotate about saidsupporting means, and mean connected to said arm member adjacent itsfree end for propelling an object engaged there- 1 to with respect tosaid fluid.

References (Iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,369,670 2/21Kauflman 114-123 1,609,922 12/26 Wiig 272 -32 1,710,625 4/29 Kapigan114, 123 1,722,523 7/29 Hunter 272-32 1,786,658 12/30 Iden 272-323,003,762 10/61 Lewis 272-32 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

DEIBERT B. LOWE, Examiner.

1. A FLOATING PROPELLING DEVICE INCLUDING MEANS FOR BUOYANTLY SUPPORTINGTHE MAJOR PORTION OF THE WEIGHT OF THE DEVICE, SAID SUPPORTING MEANS INITS OPERATIVE POSITIVE BEING SUBMERGED IN THE FLUID UPON WHICH THEDEVICE IS FLOATED, ADDITIONAL MEANS FOR BUOYANTLY SUPPORTING THEREMAINING PORTION OF THE WEIGHT OF THE DEVICE, MEANS FOR CONNECTING SAIDADDITIONAL SUPPORTING MEANS TO SAID SUPPORTING MEANS AT A PREDETERMINEDRADIAL DISTANCE THEREFROM, SAID ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING MEANS IN ITSOPERATIVE POSITION BEING PARTIALLY SUBMERGED IN SAID FLUID AND BEINGADAPTED TO PROVIDE A RESTORING MOVEMENT TO SAID SUPPORTING MEANS, ATLEAST ONE ARM MEMBER EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE LOCATION OF SAIDSUPPORTING MEANS, MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY ATTACHING SAID ARM MEMBER AT ONEEND THEREOF TO SAID SUPPORTING MEANS, AND MEANS FOR PROVIDING ASUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL DRIVING FORCE TO SAID ARM MEMBER, SAID DRIVINGFORCE ROTATING SAID PIVOTALLY ATTACHED ARM MEMBER TO ROTATE ABOUT SAIDSUPPORTING MEANS, WHEREBY THE PORTION OF SAID ARM MEMBER ADJACENT THEOTHER END THEREOF IS ADAPTED TO PROPEL AN OBJECT ENGAGED THERETO WITHRESPECT TO SAID FLUID.